Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.
When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.
This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.
All tagged Travel
I always appreciate hearing different point of views on parenting because usually that means I can find something which resonates with me. Traveling with kids was one of those big question marks for my husband and I. We had traveled extensively before having children and we weren't certain how it would be after having them. It wasn't until my son was 1.5 years old that we took the leap of faith and brought him on his first flight. However, in his first year and a half of life we did a lot of traveling starting when he was just shy of two months old. I remember the first time we packed the car with baby stuff and we were like. "Wow, this is a lot of stuff for one tiny person!" In that first year and a half of his life we went to the coast, the mountains, the city and everywhere in between. Although we did not fly anywhere we took him on a ton of road trips and learned loads about how to keep a baby and then eventual toddler entertained while in the car.
When traveling with children it is important to do three things: lower your expectations for the amount of ground you can cover in one day (one big activity per day is the goal), make the earliest dinner reservations you can (usually right when they open for dinner ie. 5pm) so you can eat at trendy/fun/popular/nice places without feeling like you are crashing the party. This way you never have to wait for a meal or worse yet roam around the streets looking for a place to eat. Lastly, make certain to give your children plenty of time to run around and be free. Once you have realistic expectations for traveling as a family and they have the freedom to be kids your trip will go almost as smoothly as those pre children vacation days.
When planning our trip to Oslo we knew we wanted to stay somewhere fun, hip and with a local flair. Making certain there were cool places to eat and fun shops nearby was also very high on our priority list. So when I stumbled upon Scandic Vulkan it was a match made in heaven. The Scandic Vulkan is located in the up and coming Vulkan neighborhood, surprisingly the area and its recent growth reminded us a lot of Seattle. In just a two minute walk from the hotel you are inside arguably one of my favorite spots in Oslo- Mathallen Oslo. Mathallen Oslo has an endless array of delicious things to eat and pretty things to look at. Eating out is admittedly one of our favorite things to do and food is consistently at the top of our souvenir list.
When traveling with a toddler the first thing you might try to avoid is taking a city vacation. However, Oslo proved to be the perfect blend of natural beauty, history, and intrigue for the whole family. Both my husband and I love being close to the water and love to make it a point to learn a little bit about the history of the places we visit. My son, Jasper, is currently obsessed with boats, so spending time down at the harbor, the Fram museum and the Viking museum were definite high points for him. 72 hours might not seem like a ton of time to explore a new city, but with the Olso Pass we were quickly able to create a game plan for our stay which involved museums, taking as much local transportation as possible, a few boat rides and a ton of walking.
Although we have only taken Jasper on one big trip so far in his short life we learned A LOT throughout the process. I have come up with a few pointers for those of you who are contemplating doing the same thing.
Vacations much like life are often punctuated with a few hiccups along the way. When our accommodations in Bergen fell through at the last minute I was elated when I found out this bright and airy apartment was still available. David, the owner, was easy to work with and was kind enough to procure a portable crib for us. Our entire experience from booking to staying was as lovely and laid back as his apartment.
Between the fantastic weather we have been experiencing this Summer and enjoying a slew of fun activities this Summer is turning out to be just plain awesome. I know we are only less than a month into Summer, but here are some of the highlights so far.
I really cannot say enough good things about visiting Paris in the spring time. We were fortunate to have spectacular weather throughout our entire stay. We relished every moment we were able to sit in the sunshine admiring all the lovely flowers and people watching. I especially enjoyed how this trip turned into a baby moon of sorts. Walking hand in hand exploring the city made me reminisce on the wonderful thirteen years we have had together. I wouldn't trade our time together for anything in the world. Sure, sometimes we disagree and get on each other's nerves, but we have learned a lot from each other and I like to think we are better together than apart.
Amsterdam is such a delightful city, but we knew we wanted to spend some time out in the country while we were in the Netherlands. We had timed our trip just perfectly so we were able to see all the tulips in bloom, but I also had been dreaming about visiting a Dutch windmill. Windmills are the most famous Dutch icon and I was eager to see them in person.
On our day trip to the countryside we were able to explore a working windmill. This particular windmill was crushing pigments to make paint while another one nearby was grinding spices. Standing on the deck of a windmill is something everyone should experience once in their life.
Even though our stop over to Iceland was brief, we were still able to enjoy beautiful scenery, open roads and all four seasons in two days. Oh how I love Iceland, the combination of a subtle color palette, wide open spaces and the dynamic, unpredictable weather. Iceland will always be the place of my dreams.
We just returned from a two week adventure in Iceland, Amsterdam and Paris. Although I found each place to be uniquely exciting and different, hands down Amsterdam won for the most charming city. Everywhere I turned it was so delightful I found myself constantly taking photographs. I desperately wanted to document all the adorable homes, bridges and canals we were witnessing. Between the whizzing bicycles, cobblestones streets and endless canals I found Amsterdam to be different than any other place I have visited before.
Almost fourteen years ago I backpacked through Europe. I went with my friend for a month and during that time we managed to visit France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In my whirlwind adventure I fell in love with the world, traveling and all it had to offer. In my opinion, travel begets travel which means that trip forever left me altered. Once you take the initial leap to pack your bag, criss cross time zones and learn to navigate in a foreign country you learn how little you need and how much you have to offer the world.
